Publications by researchers

Author(s): Kerem Öktem, Hans-Lukas Kieser, Maurus Reinkowski (ed.)

Description:
With the end of the First World War, the centuries-old social fabric of the Ottoman world, an intricate space of religious coexistence in the Balkans and the Middle East, finally came to an end. In this new study, Hans-Lukas Kieser argues that while the Ottoman Empire officially ended in 1922 when Turkish nationalists in Ankara abolished the Sultanate, the core of its imperial character was destroyed in 1915 when the Young Turk regime exterminated the Armenians from Asia Irrelevant. This book analyses the dynamics and processes that led to the genocide and left behind today's crisis-ridden post-Ottoman Middle East. Beyond Istanbul, the book also examines three distinct but intertwined late Ottoman territories: Palestine, the predominantly Kurdish-Armenian eastern provinces and the Aegean coast; All were confronted with new claims by national movements that challenged the Ottoman state. All of them remain conflict regions to this day. The film "The First World War and the End of the Ottoman World" brings together an analysis of the key forces that undermined an empire and represents an important new contribution to the study of the Ottoman world and the Middle East.

Author(s): Rok Zupancic, Anton Grizold, Bostjan Udovic

This monograph analyses the role of the United Nations, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the European Union and NATO, which were in charge of conflict prevention, post-conflict reconstruction and state-building in Kosovo from 1999 to 2008. The role of four international organisations in this context is analysed using selected quantitative and qualitative methods of social science research (interviews, surveys, statistical analysis, analysis of primary and secondary sources), which the author used during his fieldwork in Kosovo. The four international organisations analysed understood their role in these tasks in the broadest sense. Thus, in line with their strategies, the four actors predominantly used the instruments of medium- and long-term conflict prevention (economic incentives, building democratic institutions, raising awareness of human rights and promoting protection, ensuring general security, etc.). The use of short-term conflict prevention instruments was only used sporadically and on a case-by-case basis. The use of conflict prevention instruments was mostly the result of ad hoc decisions and not an automated process that would be triggered if certain conditions were met. The monograph also examines the question of whether and to what extent Kosovo Albanians and Kosovo Serbs supported the conflict prevention work of the four international organisations in this regard. The results have shown that the views of the two population groups vary statistically significantly along ethnic lines.

Author(s): Marko Kmezić

Description:
Strengthening the rule of law and joining the European Union has been fraught with difficulties in the Western Balkans for over 20 years. This book addresses "Europeanisation" as a politically driven process, i.e. as a way in which EU institutions, rules and policy-making processes influence legal systems, institutional mechanisms and the creation of collective cultural identity in non-EU member states. The research question that this book attempts to answer is therefore whether EU institutions have an impact on the implementation of the rule of law in the Western Balkans and if so, what impact. As part of the monitoring of the candidate countries' compliance with the Copenhagen conditionality criteria regarding the effective rule of law and democracy, the EU Commission examines and criticises the "effectiveness" of the rule of law in the judiciary. Against this background, the focus of this volume is on judicial reform in five case study countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. Although academic scholarship and democratic politics agree that the rule of law is a legitimising principle for the exercise of state power, there is no uniform 'European standard' for EU institution-building or monitoring activities in this area. Moreover, empirical research on the 'transformative power' of the EU with regard to the effectiveness of the rule of law and justice sector reform is still in its infancy. It is precisely this gap that this book attempts to fill.

Author(s): Kerem Öktem

Description:
In Turkey, there are many expatriate communities abroad as well as communities of different origins whose members live within their borders and feel connected to other states or regions. Many of these communities have been ignored or viewed with suspicion by the modern Turkish nation state since its foundation in the 1920s. Only recently has Turkey 'discovered' its people abroad and the diaspora communities within, a discovery that appears to be causally linked to Turkey's rising ambitions and soft power capabilities. Under the Justice and Development Party, efforts towards a concerted diaspora policy have culminated with the creation of the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities in 2010. This report looks at the Presidency, its objectives and capacities, its role in the wider context of Turkish foreign policy and its desired and actual impact on Turkish diaspora communities. Is this a "new diaspora policy" aimed at increasing Turkish influence abroad or an attempt to improve the quality of life of Turkish citizens who are often discriminated against in Western European countries? Or is it an example of constructive foreign policy and the building of a diaspora among a diverse group of people, most of whom have very little in common? Based on qualitative field research during the presidency, this paper argues that Turkey's new diaspora policy combines all these different approaches. This openness and flexibility is a great strength, even though Turkey's diaspora policy faces considerable political challenges, precisely because it is still in its formative stages. Nevertheless, this first phase in shaping Turkey's diaspora policy is the perfect time to discuss its direction and suggest ways to make it more inclusive and internationally respected. This is all the more important as Turks abroad are likely to face greater discrimination in a European Union increasingly influenced by racist and Islamophobic political parties, while the 2015 Armenian Genocide centenary controversies will once again strain inter-community relations between Turks, Kurds and Armenians abroad. An inclusive and post-nationalist diaspora policy would be an important solution to these two challenges.

Author(s): Marko Kmezić, Claire Gordon, Jasmina Opardija

Description:
This volume enables a new generation of scholars from the Balkans and beyond to shed light on some of the issues facing the region. The combination of post-communist transition and post-conflict transition as well as the current economic and financial crisis pose difficult challenges for the Western Balkans. What is the state of democracy in the region? Are the countries of the Western Balkans somewhere between authoritarianism and genuine democracy? What are the remaining obstacles to state-building? What impact has the crisis had on young people in the Western Balkans? These are some of the questions that the authors of this volume aim to answer. The studies look at different countries and combine methods from various disciplines, ranging from political science, history, economics and law to sociology, anthropology and cultural studies.

Author(s): Kerem Öktem

Description:
Another Empire actually draws on a conference entitled "Turkey's Foreign Policy in a Changing World: Old Alignments and New Neighbourhoods" in May 2010. Today, Turkey is struggling to be many things at once, from regional hegemon to order-setter to middle power to trading state and model democracy in the Middle East and North Africa, Southeast Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia and beyond. This is happening with varying degrees of success as relations with the European Union weaken and Turkey's international role is transformed by creeping reatlantisation and growing unilateralism. The politics of empire, the debate over Turkey's orientation and its persuasiveness as a model of democracy remain at the centre of the paradox of Turkish foreign policy and its role in the world

Author(s): Aleksandr Dusman, Ugne Petrauskaite, Asta Rinkevičiute, Lina Strupinskiene, Rok Zupančič

Description:
Increasingly complex post-conflict operations require joint efforts of different actors: military, international governmental organisations, NGOs, various foreign and local government agencies, companies, etc. These different entities have different responsibilities and comparative advantages in post-conflict stabilisation, rehabilitation, reconstruction and development operations. However, their actions should be well coordinated in order to contribute to effective conflict resolution. Nevertheless, in most cases problems are prevalent in these relationships. Different forms of organisation, for example the horizontal coordination methods in the non-governmental sector versus the hierarchical coordination of the military, often hinder efficient interaction between the two sectors. In some cases, mutual inflexibility leads to the exclusion of the non-governmental sector as a whole from post-conflict stabilisation efforts. A similar effect could also be caused by differences in the agendas of the civilian and military sectors. For example, the civilian sector tends to focus on long-term development projects, while the military tends to work on short-term containment issues. The lack of coordination between the different agendas and objectives can lead to additional tensions between civilian (both state and non-state) and military actors in conflict and post-conflict areas, sometimes undermining the overall effectiveness of the mission. These and similar challenges are mainly due to insufficient sharing of best practices between different actors and countries. Afghanistan could be a good and recent example. Before the transition period, there were 27 PRTs in Afghanistan, commanded by more than ten countries participating in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Afghanistan. Each of the countries has a slightly different pattern of conducting civil-military cooperation and information sharing on the most common challenges of civil-military cooperation and best practices remains very limited. While countries with prior knowledge can at least utilise their own institutional experience, this is not possible for newcomers. The overall aim of this project is therefore to create a dialogue between Central and Eastern European countries to learn best practices for dealing with challenges and thus promote more effective civil-military cooperation for peace and conflict resolution

Author(s): Armina Galijaš

Description:
Although the Bosnian city of Banja Luka was not a theatre of military conflict during the Bosnian war, the nationalist actors, as well as the local Bosnian-Serb majority, fundamentally changed society and everyday life. Armina Galijas looks at this serious transformation from two perspectives. On the one hand, she analyses the social history of the establishment of a new ruling class in a new political system. On the other hand, she analyses the individual everyday lives of minorities and dissidents in a city that has been shattered by violence and redistribution mechanisms in favour of the dominant ethnic group.